Fred is still hitting the mark with good flow, view angles, and faces. He says he hates onomatopoeia but I think they turned out well here.
As I watched this comic being created on Twitch, I was sure the little cup was where Ninjagrrl planned to keep Miho's heart.

Instead, we get a lead-in for (what had darned well better be) a major reveal. Let the speculation begin!

(1) Nothing. Fred teases us and this goes nowhere anytime soon. Typical, but this time would be rather annoying.

(2) We learn that Miho was always desperate to live and only just now realizes it, having long accepted reoccurring death to satiate the horde as her lot in...life.

(3) We learn that Miho always sought death but now that she can live, she wants to for life's own sake and only just now realizes it.

(4) We learn that Miho always sought death but now that she can live, she wants to for Piro and only just now realizes it.

SD seems to no longer need the tinfoil hat that it had made from merciless hammering on Occam's Razor. This is a strange state of affairs. I do hope that it finds the need for it again someday.

I wonder if ninja girl knew more than she was letting on.... it would make sense, with her being a ninja that she would be part of stability. Only this time Piro, or anyone (that we know of) that can save her are no-where near.

edit: or maybe what I was interpreting as the knife blade was just the gap between Miho's chest and her arm due to the angle we're given.... man am I still tired....

Bringer of pointless claims and false theories
Self imposed president of the 'I *heart* TWB' fan club

Well, that was something, but it makes sense. Junpei shows up all beaten up and drops Miho off at the compound to hide. Ninjagrrl obviously saw this happen. Now she needs to decide what to do. Is Miho a danger to her family? If so, what's the right thing to do.

To make a good decision there though, she needs to know more. She tried the inquisitive approach, but Miho wasn't talking. So now sterner measures were required.

I'm betting this is Junpei's mom or grandma. She's concerned about Junpei and concerned about her family. Miho not talking is not an acceptable option.

Hmm, "desperate to live", but not desperate enough to use any extraordinary abilities to stop Ninjagrrl. Looks like Miho is still torn between believing she needs to die and not actually wanting to go through the process.

Hmm, "desperate to live", but not desperate enough to use any extraordinary abilities to stop Ninjagrrl. Looks like Miho is still torn between believing she needs to die and not actually wanting to go through the process.

She may not have the strength to go head to head with Ninjagrrl. I don’t know the exact timing but I believe it’s about than 48 hours since she was dragged out of the Analogue Support Facility to the Cave of Evil where she was blown up then walked most of the night to Piro’s. Then after a very bad morning ended up back at Piro’s where she clinically died at the hands of Kimiko. She was then taken to the hospital where she had a pacemaker installed, got a little rest then escaped from there taking out a small army and then fought Junpei.

I'm thinking that our new favorite ninjagrrl is a bit higher up the hierarchy that Junpei. Once she'd tested Miho she was able to decide how to properly deal with her.

I also don't think that's the first time she's ever put a knife to a throat though it may well be the only time that she's not followed through. I get the feeling that she really doesn't deal in threats.

Well, she did manage to yank Ninjagrrl out of the air shortly after Junpei brought her home. Also she managed to get in a shot that "actually hurt" in the last strip. Miho is probably not at her peak right now certainly, but I don't think she's completely down to mundane levels either...

Even though the pacemaker stopped the arrhythmia, Miho's nowhere near 100%. Methinks Ninjalady had no intention of doing harm to Miho in the first place, instead just testing Miho's resolve. She probably trusts Junpei's judgement in bringing someone to the compound that's not a threat to the family.

I find the top part of the page scary and disturbing. Perhaps in panel 3, Miho realizes she CAN BE a threat to this Ninja family... even without intending to be. She is likely to continue to be a major target for the forces of Stability, and their bounty-hunters. She's died perhaps many hundred times. She should be prepared to die now. Her death protects everyone, and she will be likely to be back.

But something has changed, by panel 6. And "ninja-girl" sees it (and feels it through Miho's neck). That's all "ninja-girl"needs to know. (And you know, as tired as Miho is, if Miho (in these new circumstances) had then felt the blade touch her neck, I suspect that "ninja-girl" would have experienced a very hard micro-second of brawling.) "Ninja-girl" sits away -- at rest.

I believe that Miho thinks of another family involved.

Panel 8, "Ninja-girl" says: <That wasn't the face of someone ready for her story to end.>
So, "Ninja-girl" is very likely to know a lot about Miho's Story. The New Story is different.

Panel 9, "Ninja-girl" says: <That was the face of someone desperate to live.>
She speaks with authority. This is either the worlds oldest & most experienced 15-year-old "ninja-girl" or "ninja-girl" is not as she appears. These are not the personal experiences one would want a 15-year-old to have learned.

In the last panel, hostess ninja prepares to be hospitable, and offer her guest, Miho, what is either a cold can of Leapin-Ninja-Kola, or a gift pack of <Ninja-Girl> (brand) facial cream and body restoring lotion.

I'm pretty sure this is the little sister, but her "valley girl" talk is all a distraction. She is 100% ninja. She probably knows full well about the contract out on Miho, but also knows her brother would have good reasons for bringing her there. She wants to determine for herself what must be done though.

Live or die....She wants to live, but she needs to die. No, wait, somebody else did that part for her, presumably. After all, she is here to hide and wait while that all happens. While Junpei helps it happen. Does the ninja female get the drop on a confused Miho torn between life and death, or is this the same Miho that's been underestimated by and has outclassed everyone else. Who has been for all intents and purposes unkillable except perhaps when a story playing out has that as the ending. Is she a danger or is she safe, must she be removed, do ninja really solve everything with killing or is that an image they cultivate while they use other meas. Apparently only the story flow determines those things, roles are taken on to fit, and story forces the focus.

I'm kind of glad that Ninja Girl has called Miho on her self-hating 'I'd be better off dead and people want to watch me die' delusion...it's about time someone did. Piro has tried but Miho doesn't take him seriously. But Ninja Girl has forced the issue with that knife.

I'm kind of glad that Ninja Girl has called Miho on her self-hating 'I'd be better off dead and people want to watch me die' delusion...it's about time someone did. Piro has tried but Miho doesn't take him seriously. But Ninja Girl has forced the issue with that knife.

(2) We learn that Miho was always desperate to live and only just now realizes it, having long accepted reoccurring death to satiate the horde as her lot in...life.

(3) We learn that Miho always sought death but now that she can live, she wants to for life's own sake and only just now realizes it.

(4) We learn that Miho always sought death but now that she can live, she wants to for Piro and only just now realizes it.

I don't know that Miho was ever desperate to live or seeking death, since both prospects were a moot point. She's had the mindset of inevitable death for so long that it's hard to break from it, but the rules may or may not have changed now, and dealing with that and its implications is pretty much her entire crisis at the moment. For the first time in a long time, her desires and her decisions on this may actually matter, which is both a wonderful and a frightening prospect for her.

Remember, Miho used to be on fairly strict rails in terms of her story. She's off her rails now, so whatever powers she has had in the past may or may not apply here.

The trick is, and I wasn't even expecting this until it happened, it wasn't a clean break from the rails. Rather than jumping the tracks and taking off in another direction, she's still skidding half-off the tracks. She may yet become totally free, or it will be a spectacular and highly destructive crash. Everything about this chapter is that process and how her friends are helping her through it.

I'm kind of glad that Ninja Girl has called Miho on her self-hating 'I'd be better off dead and people want to watch me die' delusion...it's about time someone did. Piro has tried but Miho doesn't take him seriously. But Ninja Girl has forced the issue with that knife.

It's not a delusion when it's your story.

That is rather a clever bit, isn't it, that the metafictional commentary on a certain style of character in a certain style of story can so easily have the dual-view mundane explanation of a person that's just really depressed and down on themselves. And yet, given that it's literally true, Miho probably has fallen into that sort of depression from time to time, or at least come very close. The story that she's been trapped in is a prison of circumstances but in many ways a self-prison also. That's part of the point of Piro with his limited, mundane viewpoint being the only person who could think outside of her box.

To me, it looks like Miho has had a bit of self-revelation as the knife was at her throat. However, if she really did want to live, then why didn't she just overpower Ninjagirl/Ninjama/Ninjagranny/Nabiki<boy that name takes me back>? I'm curious to sit back and watch the next couple of panels (though a scene change is probably in order).